Tag Archives: knitting

I was lucky enough to receive a stunning package from the fantabulous Suzie (aka Deepcreek)in the recent NZFS on Ravelry. Suzie has been incredibly generous.

First, the coolest card that has had me cracking up!

Everything together:

We have the most divine fibre I have ever seen(MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM). Mystery wool carded with firestar (YUMMO!), and corriedale with sari silk. OMG, the photos really do not do this justice, it is just beautiful.

Corriedale
Drooling yet??

Mystery wool and firestar.

Cotton (How did you know I’ve been wanting some for dishcloths)
Many, many embroidery threads and holders (so scrummy!)

You know how brushing your teeth is pretty much a ‘must do’ to help you avoid those nasty cavities? Well, Blendy’s NZ Yarn Sampler Boxis a ‘must have’ if you want to avoid gaping holes in your fibre stash!!!

Touch Yarns offer a delicious range of yarn ..‘from the finest New Zealand Merino wool ideal for knitting, weaving, embroidery, felting and embellishment of garments. All Touch Yarns and colours are designed by Marnie Kelly, inspired by the stark beauty of thyme fields, mountains and the historic goldfields of Central Otago in the South Island of New Zealand’. Check out the range!

Touch Yarns are exported around the world, aswell as being snaffled up by eager NZ fibre enthusiasts. Hop over to their site!

And then there’s Fab Fibres. One look at the divine range of fibre goodness they offer and you’ll see just why they are called ‘fab’! Their motto is “Threads with a Difference”, and just feast your eyes on this wee list:

It seems that it’s gift season at the moment. Everyone is busily preparing for gift giving of some kind or another, whether it be Christmas, birthday, koha or swap related. I am reminded that my latest wool dyeing efforts have eluded the camera, so I thought I should snap some piccies before they disappear.

I won’t go into too much detail as these are yet to be gifted, but they were dyed using my new powder dyes and were steamed on the stove top. I’m finally getting my dyeing technique sussed, and LOVE the effect of using variable dye percentages and tones that steaming allows.

My new spinning buddy, Sam popped over a couple of days ago with her latest invention. A swift case!! She had one for me and one for herself to house her new swift when it arrives. Thanks so much Sam, it is just perfect and makes a much nicer home than the brown paper wrapping :-). Miss Sam is going into production with these I think, so support young Kiwi talent and buy one!!! Check out her lovely blog too.

I finally finished spinning my first attempt at sock weight yarn. This was the chocolate and neopolitan roving that I bought a couple of months ago from Vintage Purls. I’m happy with it now that I have it on the needles, it’s lovely to knit with and is shaping up to be a scrummy little pair of socks. The pattern is Up, Up and Away by Megan S. Wright. Thanks to Kristy who gifted it to me in our latest Naki yarn swap :-). Ooh, and I have finished my Opal socks too. Thank goodness. Note to self; NEVER knit a pair of plain knit socks EVER again. B.O.R.I.N.G!! I’ll take some piccies sometime :-).

We have finally got most of our ‘junk’ out of Mum and Dad’s garage now that we are in a larger house. Here’s some little treasures I found amongst my folders of work from Uni days. They are by no means the best of work, but they are nice to have around. It’s rather strange looking back, that seems like a lifetime ago. Those of you with children will understand what I mean. I love being a Mum, but I should really get back into illustration and life drawing in particular. I miss charcoal and oils and the freedom and endless possibilities that they allow. One day.

It seems there’s a lot happening around the place at the moment. New hobbies, new nappies, new growth in the garden (and that includes the weeds!) and new yarn swaps.

My Naki knitting girls and I decided to share in a ‘Kiwiana’ yarn swap. Here’s the parcel I prepared for Angela. I named it ‘Wave Waltz’ after the scrummy hand dyed roving I bought, which I used to spin the thick & thin single.

And here’s what I received from the talented Kristy……………(this is SO cool)……………….

Kristy chose a pukeko theme and hand dyed the 4ply yarn to match the colours of the pukeko. She also included a block of fair trade chocolate, a really cute book for the girls, a wee pukeko notebook, and an awesome sock pattern to match. WOW!! How lucky am I? She even presented it all in a pukeko blue box, with pukeko red ribbon and a little pukeko card. Thankyou Kristy, I really love it :-). I’m being very diligent and am finishing off the current pair of socks before I start the new pair (It’s taking some serious restraint though!).

Check out our resident Naki photographers (Sheryl, Hannah, and Sam’s )sites for more detailed piccies of the evening.

We have a new visitor at our house. He’s made himself quite at home. He visits every afternoon just after lunch, in time to finish off the bits and bobs that the kids discard. Here we have ‘baby hedgehog’. Isn’t he squishy?!!! We are calling him ‘Mr Hedgehog’ as the original Mr Hedgehog decided to depart this world last week :-(. Our new Mr Hedgehog is very tame, he is quite happy for us to sit next to him while he eats. You should see his little teeth and tongue. So cute!

I’ve been busy making custom orders this week, so there won’t be an update this Monday. But, here’s a wee peek at one of the OOAK nappies I’ve just finished for a customer. This will be winging its way overseas for an international nappy swap.

Don’t forget to enter this weeks ‘Freebie Monday draw. I’ll be back on Monday with the winner and piccies of next weeks prize. See you then!

I have been very bad, and bought a secondhand (but new condition as it wasn’t used) Ashford Joy spinning wheel. WOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! Here she is in all her glory :-). She is beautiful, and very well designed and spins sock/lace weight beautifully. But, we are having some teething issues when it comes to spinning anything heavier than about 8ply :-(. As it is a small wheel, one needs to treadle reasonably quickly (well compared to the traditional I’ve been using). Also, if you slow your treadling down, the weighted pedal turns counterclockwise, which is not a hot look! Even with the wheel on the slowest setting for bulky yarns, and the tension as loose as possible so as not to over twist, I’m ending up with little rats tails, blerk. I have played around with the tension, a. lot. Hmm, We might be taking a wee visit to one of the spinning ladies houses soon I think! How embarassing.

Freebie thoughts for next week…..

With us nearing the end of the week, I have been pondering what to create for next weeks ‘Freebie Monday’. I’ve gone back and forth between some handspun wool, and a ‘Bib and Tucker’ nappy. Soooooo, I’m going to ask my lovely readers to decide! What would you like to win this coming week? Let me know by Saturday and I’ll whip it up over the weekend.

I’ve used a range of blue/purple/pink/white merino blends, that have been core spun onto a magenta boucle yarn to create an energetic thick & thin yarn. This is super bulky, so would be suited to being used as an embelishment for a crafty project or knitted using a simple knit pattern.

How do I enter? Just leave a comment below, and if you mention my blog or link to me on your website, you receive an additional entry :-). I’ll leave each weeks freebie draw open until the following Monday, when I’ll announce the winner! I’m happy to post overseas, so pop in and say hi.

I’m just popping in to remind you to check back at 5pm tomorrow for ‘Bib and Tucker’ Monday Madness. I’ll be releasing the first colourway in my new hand illustrated Designer Nappy Collection, AND there will be freebies. Oh yes, it’s the start of ‘Bib and Tucker’ Freebie Monday tomorrow, so I’ll be loading piccies of what’s up for offer this week.